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Are there Buddhist conceptions of the unconscious? If so, are they more Freudian, Jungian, or something else? If not, can Buddhist conceptions be reconciled with the Freudian, Jungian, or other models? These are some of the questions that have motivated modern scholarship to approach alayavijnana, the storehouse consciousness, formulated in Yogâcâra Buddhism as a subliminal reservoir of tendencies, habits, and future possibilities.

We will be exploring the Abhidharmasamuccaya, a text that belongs to the later development of Buddhism. Early Buddhism is known as Theravadin or Hinayana Buddhism. Later Buddhism is known as Mahayana Buddhism. It has two schools: Madhyamika, the school of the middle way, and Yogacara, the practitioners of yoga. Yoga, in this case, has very little to do with physical dexterity, with how you can twist your arms or fiddle your toes. It is very much related with learning how to meditate properly and relate to one's own mind, with trying to understand the sort of mental states we go through in meditation and so on. The Abhidharmasamuccaya presents that kind of overall structure, in the fullest sense.

The word yoga has many meanings, including "meditation," "method," and "union." While the physical exercises of Hindu yoga are familiar to Westerners, the subtle metaphysics and refined methods of spiritual development that characterize Buddhist yoga are not yet well known. This volume presents a landmark translation of a classical sourcebook of Buddhist yoga, the Sandhinirmochana-sutra, or "Scripture Unlocking the Mysteries," a revered text of the school of Buddhism known as Vijnanavada or Yogachara.

This is a fully annotated, critical English translation of Maitreyanatha's Universal Vehicle Discourse Literature (Mahayanasutralamkara), as transmitted to the fourth-century Indian Buddhist scholar-adept firya Asanga, along with its commentary (bhasya) by Asanga's brother Vasubandhu. A wellspring of the "magnificent deeds trend of the path," the Discourse Literature emphasizes the compassion side of Buddhist thought. This long-awaited work is the founding cornerstone of the AIBS' Tanjur Translation Initiative.

Giving a new translation and interpretation of the basic works of Vasubandhu, the author shows that Yogacara metaphysics is basically the same as that of the early Buddhism. He contends that the Yogacara writings are open to interpretation in terms of realistic pluralism, and thus challenges their traditional interpretation in terms of idealistic monism. His translation is faithful to the original, arguments convincing and consistent, and presentation clear and readable.

In this book an attempt has been made to expound the metaphysics of the Yogacara school of Buddhism in all its aspects and bearings. Chapters are devoted to a critical and constructive discussion of its idealistic core as well as its spiritual discipline. According to Prof. T.R.V. Murti who occupied a conspicuous place in the galaxy of Indian philosophers, the author 'has utilized nearly all the sources available on the subject and has given a faithful and persuasive account of this system of thought'.